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We'll just have to agree to disagree about using "build" as a noun, Harry. But a little part of me sighs whenever someone makes the past tense of the verb cast into casted. English has always been a mongrel language, so there isn't much use in trying to tame it now.

Back on track: In some circles, being a scratchbuilder is not necessarily a term of endearment. There are some guys who are master modelers but just out-and-out a-holes when it comes to people skills. They see the hobby as being made up primarily of them on one side and "kit assemblers" on the other.

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Taking some brass sheet, some aluminum rod and tubing, and maybe some bits and pieces of styrene sheet and channel, etc., and making a funny car chassis with that material is an example of a scratchbuilt chassis.

Taking the body and interior from one kit, the wheels and tires from your spare parts box, the engine from another kit, etc., and putting it all together is an example of a "kitbashed" model. No scratchbuilding involved.

Of course it gets messy when you scratchbuild a chassis and add it to your kitbashed model... in which case I'll leave the definition of that to someone else! "Scratchbashed," maybe?

And while we're at it ...

One that drags my nails across the chalkboard is the improper use of the term 'kit' or 'kits' when referring to completed models.

If it is a package of unassembled parts, it is a kit.

Once it is assembled, it is no longer a kit, it has become a model.

Drives me nuts to hear someone refers to completed models as 'kits.'

This past weekend we conducted a large model contest and show. A couple of overheard comments were, "Wow! Those are great looking kits." There were no kits anywhere in sight, but we did have a lot of great looking models on display.

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Does it really matter? Like Rat Rod does it really Matter? lets just say it was built by mr. So & So, and he calls it HumDinger, so what's in a Name anyWho?

Yes, it does matter, at least to me. Scratch-building is an art form, and usually requires a bit of extra effort and skill to achieve good results.

When someone claims to have scratch-built something and it is really just modified from existing parts, (or worse taking credit for someone else's work), I find it insulting to those who actually do scratch-build.

What if you bought a die cast and claimed you built it from a kit? How different is that from claiming you scratch-built something you didn't?

Seems like a lot of people use the term to bolster the sound of what they have made, or are just ignorant of the true meaning of the term.

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Seems like a lot of people use the term to bolster the sound of what they have made, or are just ignorant of the true meaning of the term.

A lot of people throw around the term 'scratchbuilding' in order to self-aggrandize their work. It's the people who are ignorant of the true meaning of the term ~ or, too lazy to adhere to the true meaning ~ who enable the first group.

Much like most language/grammar/syntax violations, allowing improper usage to go uncorrected or unchallenged merely reinforces the acceptance of bad language/grammar/syntax and eventual blurring of the lines through common misuse.

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As far as bad grammar, I could care less, I've got a build to finish, it's a nascar.

And now I'm going to kill my self!

I can't resist. I just can't So far, no one has caught Harry's elbow in the ribs about "I could care less," which means, obviously, that you COULD care less. The phrase is "I COULDN'T care less."

Further, you don't build a nascar. NASCAR is an acronym for the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing that uses all caps, and should be an adjective used in a phrase such as "I build NASCAR race cars." Otherwise, you're saying, "I build the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing."

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Further, you don't build a nascar. NASCAR is an acronym for the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing that uses all caps, and should be an adjective used in a phrase such as "I build NASCAR race cars." Otherwise, you're saying, "I build the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing."

That's what I've been saying for years.

It would be the same as calling this "an NHRA".

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Insofar as "build" is concerned, I would submit that nonstandard variations are common in jargon across a multitude of special interests, industries and eras, and may not always be found in a dictionary. Within our community, I think "build" is an acceptable noun.

For example, trying to "grow" your business or the economy is not a traditional verb, but it has caught on.

And is it scratchbuilt, scratch-built or scratch built? Things to ponder about.

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Insofar as "build" is concerned, I would submit that nonstandard variations are common in jargon across a multitude of special interests, industries and eras, and may not always be found in a dictionary. Within our community, I think "build" is an acceptable noun.

For example, trying to "grow" your business or the economy is not a traditional verb, but it has caught on.

And is it scratchbuilt, scratch-built or scratch built? Things to ponder about.

I realize that "build" is accepted as a noun among many modelers, all I'm saying is that it's not grammatically correct, as Drew initially pointed out. And as far as Model Cars Magazine is concerned, it's "scratchbuilt." I have to edit copy all the time because some people say "scratch-built" and some say "scratch built." But our "official" version is all one word, no hyphen.

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Well, I just received another email, it seems as though I've insulted a Scratch builder!

The thing is, the definition of "scratchbuilding" isn't a matter of opinion, it's a word that has a specific definition and when used, means a certain thing. But when misused, it drives real scratchbuilders crazy. It's like a person baking a cake from a Betty Crocker mix and frosting it with frosting out of a can and entering it in a bake-off and saying they made it from scratch. Someone else in the bake-off who actually did make their cake from scratch is not going to be very happy with the Betty Crocker person going around claiming that their cake was made from scratch.

And I used the dictionary in my post because the dictionary is the "referee" as far as correct usage, spelling and grammar. If we didn't have an accepted "official" source, and no rules for grammar, spelling, etc. at all, we'd all be speaking and writing our own version of English, and odds are most of us wouldn't understand each other.